Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he couldn't comment on the hit because he didn't see it. “All I can tell you is he was getting a penalty and going off,'' Babcock said. “ I haven’t seen it so I can’t tell you anything about it.''

The match penalty calls for an automatic review by the NHL.

“I'm not going to comment on that,'' Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “It was a big turning point and it turned out being the turning point of the game.''

Overall, there were complains from both fan bases throughout the game about officials Ian Walsh and Chris Lee, who called seven minor penalties in the first period. But this penalty on Backes is the kind of over-reactive, hair-trigger call that makes one think that over-protection of the players can sometimes trump good judgement. An embarrassment, given the stakes.